Penguins 5, Islanders 0

May 01, 2013|Reuters

Penguins 5, Islanders 0: Pascal Dupuis scored twice and Marc-Andre Fleury rebounded after struggling in last year's playoffs to turn aside 26 shots as host Pittsburgh breezed to victory in Game 1 of its Eastern Conference first-round series with eighth-seeded New York.

Rookie Beau Bennett and defenseman Kris Letang each scored a power-play goal, Tanner Glass also tallied and Jarome Iginla notched a pair of assists while playing in his first postseason game since 2009. The top-seeded Penguins didn't miss a beat without captain Sidney Crosby, who did not receive medical clearance prior to the contest - and is questionable for Friday's Game 2 in Pittsburgh.

Staked to an offensive explosion, Fleury coasted in his first playoff appearance since being torched for 26 goals in six games during last year's first-round loss to Philadelphia. He tied Tom Barrasso's franchise record with his sixth postseason shutout.

Bennett opened the scoring at 3:30 of the first period after his sharp-angle shot from the lower edge of the right faceoff circle sailed under the crossbar. Dupuis tallied nearly 10 minutes later after cleaning up a failed bid by Iginla in the high slot before depositing the puck past Evgeni Nabokov (11 saves).

Letang scored from the left circle at 1:19 of the second and Nabokov was replaced by Kevin Poulin (10 saves) 32 seconds later after Dupuis netted his 14th career postseason goal with a backhander in the slot.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Nabokov received a rude awakening three minutes into the contest after taking a slap shot off his mask from Iginla. The veteran goaltender slumped to the ice for a few moments, but stayed in the game. ... Crosby has been sidelined since March 30 after a deflected shot resulted in a broken jaw. ... Penguins LW James Neal exited the contest with an undisclosed injury after taking a pair of shifts in the second period. He did not return. ... Eleven of New York's 18 skaters were playing in their first playoff contest. ... The Islanders were making their first postseason appearance since 2007.